Gecko for tracking and alerts takes to Indiegogo for funds

(Phys.org) —Gecko is a new Indiegogo project from Bangalore, India startup Connovate Technology. The project seeks funds to mass produce the company's Bluetooth smart tag, slightly bigger than a coin, called Gecko. The device cannot change the world but it can help anyone's effort to get through the day. Gecko monitors and tracks the whereabouts of everyday objects, pets, and toddlers to make sure nothing is lost or at risk. Gecko measures 36mm diameter and is 4.9mm thick, according to the company site. The glass and aluminum device can be stuck on anything, from phone, wallet, luggage, to keychain. If the user naps at a train station or airport Gecko can alert the user if someone moves the bags.

Tag a front door or window and your Gecko can send you an alert on your phone every time the door is opened and closed. Making use of low energy Bluetooth, Gecko can track objects. The promotional video shows someone getting out of bed in the morning and using the Gecko to find the phone. (You can attach it to a key, and if you can't find the key you can use your phone to make Gecko sound a beep. If you can't find your phone, you can get Gecko to make the phone start ringing.) The moment the object, or pet, or toddler, moves out of the 100 foot range, you hear an audible alert. Tag your pet to get an alert when it leaves a 100-foot radius.

Geckos can work with iOS and with Android devices. The Gecko is packed with a TI CC2541 SoC, and runs on a coin cell battery that can last 1.5 years with normal usage. An LED and buzzer provides the alert that can be heard in a noisy environment. An accelerometer sensor provides motion detection.

The Gecko project, with $50,000 funding as the goal, has received $16,861 in pledges at the time of this writing with 36 days left to go.

"We started off building Gecko almost a year ago," according to its team. They completed hardware and firmware design and they "have built the complete ecosystem of chipset vendors and manufacturing partner to mass produce Gecko," they added. They will apply funding toward the next steps in tooling and commercial production.

Twenty dollars gets a Gecko with free access to Gecko application, motion detection, gesture control for smartphone music and camera triggering, a pill box alert and Track & Find. The estimated delivery date is December.

The company behind Gecko is a design engineering and product solutions company. Team skills include experience in embedded system and connectivity technologies.